‘Every night is going to feel like Christmas!’
Welsh stage star Caroline Sheen is heading to Cardiff in the touring production of 9 to 5 The Musical. She tells Jenny White why she’s pleased to be heading for the Wales Millennium Centre
WHILE her cousin Michael Sheen has made his name on-screen, Caroline Sheen has carved an impressive career on stage. She’s renowned for her leading roles in the West End including Les Misérables at the Palace and Queen’s theatres, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, and the title role in Mary Poppins on tour throughout the US and the UK.
Now the London-based actor is heading to Cardiff, taking the lead role of Violet Newstead in the touring West End production of 9 to 5 The Musical. It’s a role she knows well: she is currently starring as Violet in the West End.
“I’m so excited to be joining the tour in Cardiff,” she says. “I begged the producers to let me do it!
“The Millennium Centre is one of my favourite buildings in the world.
“I was part of the opening celebrations right at the start and I’ve been back a few times since with concerts, shows and my one-woman cabaret.
“My little girl calls it ‘Mummy’s Theatre!’ I’ve got so many friends and family coming along, some whom I haven’t seen in decades. Every night is going to feel like Christmas!”
“She’s also delighted to be appearing in this particular musical.
“Featuring songs by Dolly Parton, 9 to 5 The Musical is based on the hit 20th Century Fox Picture of the same name.
The musical version was originally produced on Broadway by Robert Greenblatt in April 2009. This current production opened in the West End in February 2019: Dolly Parton attended the premiere and joined the cast on stage at the finale.
“It’s such a fun show,” says Sheen. “The laughs and the joy that emanate from the audience are incredible. It’s so lovely to be a part of.”
9 TO 5 The Musical tells the story of Doralee, Violet and Judy - three workmates pushed to boiling point by their sexist and egotistical boss. They concoct a plan to kidnap and turn the tables on their despicable supervisor – but then their CEO pays an unexpected visit.
Georgina Castle plays Doralee, the role made famous by Dolly Parton, while Welsh actor Amber Davies, who is best known for winning the TV reality show Love Island in 2017, plays Judy.
“I only know a few of the cast who have joined the tour from London, so it’s going to be great to work alongside some new people,” says Sheen. “Amber did the show with me in London and we get on great. She’s a blast and such a talent. She used to write down Welsh words on one of the prop notepads onstage for me to help me keep up my Welsh learning! I’m looking forward to being up here with her again in our homeland.”
Sheen enjoys the role of Violet, whose predicament feels as relevant today as it was in the 1980s.
“Violet is a great character, she’s wise and witty and really good at her job,” says Sheen. “She deserves every promotion going but keeps getting passed over by men. This show is about how she and her pals take revenge on their horrendous sexist harassing boss and the hilarity that ensues. And it’s all about female empowerment, equal pay and flexible working hours - so it’s massively relevant to the issues we face today even though this show is set in the 80s. It’s an absolute riot! Workwise it’s a very busy and exhausting show as I’m hardly off the stage, but it’s exhilarating at the end.”
Sheen is used to this kind of life: her immersion in theatre goes right back to childhood. Originally from Caerleon, she grew up in a family with a fierce love of performing and the stage.
“I come from a long line of fervent amateur theatre participators,” she says. “Further back in our family there are circus people, including a female lion tamer, whom I’d love to find out more about.” She was taken to the local theatre a lot as a child and used to attend the rehearsals of Cwmbran Operatic Society with her parents.
“A special day was going along to their dress rehearsals at the Dolman in Newport,” she says. “I can still remember all the sounds and smells, and the sequins on the floors. It all seemed so magical. Once I was old enough, I started to do the shows too, and I was well and truly bitten by the acting bug. I joined Gwent Young People’s theatre and then the National Youth Theatre of Wales before heading off to drama school in Guildford.”
Michael Sheen is, as she puts it, her “big cousin”. There was not much cross-over in their working lives in the early years, with her focused on musicals rather than screen acting, but she enjoyed watching his success.
“It was very encouraging to see him do so well and realise that someone so close to me could achieve their ambitions,” she says.
“It definitely gave me the impetus and confidence to give my ambitions a go.
“The older I get the more our paths seem to cross professionally, which is nice.
“His makeup artist on Good Omens was my makeup artist on Nativity Rocks! Also he’s just finished filming a TV show with my husband.
“I’m looking forward to catching up with him when I’m home in Cardiff with the show.”
Her husband is Olivier Award-winning actor Michael Jibson. How do
they manage to juggle their careers while raising their six-year-old daughter?
“It’s always a juggling act being married to another actor and having a family together,” she says.
“Our daughter is honestly the light of our lives. Having her has really helped us both to put our work life balance into the right perspective.
“We both work hard and try to make the right choices career wise, but ultimately it comes down to what’s best for us as a family. She is always first and foremost in our decisions.
“Having her has made me realise how much my parents supported me (and still do!) and my crazy ambitions. I hear from a lot of people how they’ve not followed their dreams because their parents discouraged them.
“My Mum and Dad have always been amazing about it, and always said as long as I had good qualifications to fall back on then I could give it a go.”
From the age of about 13 her parents used to take her up to London to see all the big musicals such as Miss Saigon and Les Miserables, then would buy the recordings and listen to them in the car.
“I used to steal them from the car and re-enact the whole show in my bedroom most nights,” she says. “It was probably very loud and annoying, but Mum and Dad didn’t complain. Maybe they had good earplugs! I had always loved being in shows and watching them locally, so the idea that you could do it and make a living out of it was incredibly exciting.”
Now she really is living the dream – and her work has also taken her onto our TV screens, most recently as Carys, the lead role in the BBC’s new comedy drama Pitching In.
“Pitching In was such an exciting move for me,” she says. “I had done a few very small roles in television and was hoping for something bigger, but I wasn’t expecting to land a lead role! I auditioned for two parts in this and had the call a few weeks later. I honestly couldn’t believe it.
“My first day I was filming outside a pub overlooking a beach with Larry Lamb and Hayley Mills. It really was one of those ‘pinch me’ moments.
“It was the loveliest cast of people in one of the most beautiful areas of Wales (Anglesey), and I ended up playing opposite a dear pal of mine from my days in the National Youth
Theatre of Wales - Craig Russell. We all had an absolute blast filming it. We also have the best WhatsApp group ever and that’s a fact!”
For a stage actor, working in TV was a fresh challenge – but one she embraced.
“It does differ from stage work in that the scale of your performance has to be altered, but basically it is just about being honest and telling the story, just for a camera rather than a room filled with 2000 people,” she says.
“Also, you have to get up really early in the morning and work outside in the cold. That’s something I never got used to!”
For now, she’s safely back indoors delighting audiences with 9 to 5. And if you miss it in Cardiff, the good news is she’s going to be playing Violet for some time yet.
“After this I’ll be heading back to the Savoy in London to carry on working 9 to 5 until the New Year,” she says. “And then, who knows!”
■ 9 to 5 The Musical is at Wales Millennium Centre from October 29 to November 2. For more details visit www.wmc.org.uk